Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: NEW FRONTIER LINEUP ANNOUNCED

12/12/2019

Park City, UT - Sundance Institute spotlights work at the dynamic crossroads of film, art and technology with the New Frontier selections for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, announced today. This curated collection of cutting-edge independent and experimental media works are by creators who are pushing artistic innovation across mediums that include rocket travel, biotech, facial recognition, mixed reality (MR), smartphone AR, underwater VR, game engines, big data, AI, the human archive, and innovative uses of SMS text & iPhone video capture. Programmers assembled a global slate of work from a mix of invitations and submissions to an open call for work earlier this year.

The 2020 edition of New Frontier returns to two dedicated venue spaces: New Frontier at The Ray and New Frontier Central, each of which host a variety of media installations, a VR Cinema, and panel discussions. New this year, New Frontier Central also houses the Biodigital Theatre, a cutting-edge presentation space that will feature a rotating schedule of large scale VR theatrical works including a feature-length livestream game telecast. Once again, New Frontier Central will feature lounge space for credential holders to meet and relax before and after experiencing the New Frontier program. New Frontier also breaks out into the wild with satellite projects in the pool at Festival Headquarters, AR dances to be discovered in various locations around Park City, and a nationwide fugitive newscast accessed at various sites around the festival, as well as at 11 art house theatres across the U.S., including The Belcourt Theatre (Nashville, Tenn.); Cinema Detroit; The Loft Cinema (Tucson, Arizona); Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor, Michigan); The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, Texas), Nitehawk Cinema (Brooklyn, New York), Northwest Film Forum (Seattle, Washington), O Cinema (Miami, Florida), Parkway Theatre (Baltimore, Maryland), The State Theatre (Ann Arbor, Michigan) and Texas Theatre (Dallas, Texas).

Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute, said, Technology infuses most aspects of modern life -- and is evolving at a historic pace. The New Frontier artists that we showcase are taking completely fresh and thoughtful approaches to how the newest technological formats engage with the ancient art of storytelling.

Shari Frilot, Chief Curator, New Frontier, said Powerful technologies now enable experiences that capture, replicate, and replace the real. But it is even more special when the human touch converges with technology, we are provoked to reach beyond what we know to be real and enter into unfamiliar terrain. This transcendence can shift who we believe ourselves to be, where our bodies begin and end, what we are to each other, and who we are ultimately capable of being. The 2020 edition of New Frontier stares down the fear of losing our neighborhoods, and losing ourselves, and reminds us that the future is now -- and because the future is now, the future can be ours.

With these additions, the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Program features 241 works, 44% are directed or led by one or more women, 35% were directed or led by one or more artists of color, and 19% by one or more people who identify as LGBTQ+. The 32 projects announced today include work from 21 countries, and 31% are directed or led by one or more women, 44% are directed or led by one or more artists of color, and 31% by one or more people who identify as LGBTQ+. 4 were supported by Sundance Institute in development, whether through direct granting or residency Labs.

New Frontier alumni include Doug Aitken, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Chris Milk, Nonny de la Pe a, Pipilotti Rist and Jennifer Steinkamp. The Institutes support extends well beyond its curated slate of Festival projects, and includes the annual New Frontier Story Lab, which offers mentorship and development opportunities for new media storytellers, and the Future of Culture Initiative, an action plan that includes partnerships with Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University in order to implement key recommendations from a two-year global field scan that analyzed strategies for improving equity and inclusion in emerging media. The Sundance Institute New Frontier Program is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Cindy Harrell Horn and Alan Horn, Dell Technologies, Google Empathy Lab, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Oculus from Facebook, Unity Technologies, The Walt Disney Company, YouTube VR, and Adobe.

In addition to the New Frontier program announced today, films across all categories, including works in the Shorts, Special Events and Indie Episodic sections, have been announced and are listed at sundance.org/festival.

The 2020 Sundance Film Festival New Frontier slate:

FILMS AND PERFORMANCES

BLKNWS / U.S.A. (Director: Kahlil Joseph, Screenwriters: Sheba Anyanwu, Lee Harrison, Darol Kae, Producers: Onye Anyanwu, Kahlil Joseph) - An ongoing art project that blurs the lines between art, journalism, entrepreneurship, and cultural critique, appropriating the newsreel format as an opportunity to reimagine the contemporary cinematic experience, mixing an element of seriousness with a lighthearted twist on what news can be. Cast: Helen Molesworth, Alzo Slade, Amandla Stenberg, Trifari Williams. BLKNWS will also screen at 11 art house theatres around the country.

Infinitely Yours / U.S.A. (Director: Miwa Matreyek) A live performance at the intersection of cinema and theater exploring what it means to be living in the Anthropocene and the time of climate crisis. A kaleidoscopic meditation that is an emotionally impactful and embodied illustration of news headlines we see everyday.

A Machine for Viewing / United Kingdom, Australia (Directors: Oscar Raby, Richard Misek, Charlie Shackleton, Producers: Richard Misek, Oscar Raby) A unique
LINK: http://www.sundance.org/blogs/news/2020-new-frontier-announced-festiva...
See more stories from sundance

North America Stories

12/05/2026

G&D and CT Square Launch New Joint Venture in India

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/05/2026

Congress Urged to Protect Live Sports on Broadcast TV

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/05/2026

Roku to Stream Inaugural Enhanced Games in North America

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/05/2026

Austrian Broadcaster Selects Lawo, SLG Broadcast for Studio Upgrade

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

12/05/2026

NUGEN Audio Debuts Enhanced DialogCheck at MPTS 2026

NUGEN Audio will debut Version 1.1 of DialogCheck, its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at the 2026 Media Production & Technology Show (S...

12/05/2026

Disguise Powers Interactive LED Castle for Laura Pausini

The reactive visuals can adapt to any stage or screen setup and comprise 50 layers of Notch content Today, Disguise announced that its high performance GX 3 m...

12/05/2026

DoPchoice Intros Light-Shaping Accessories for ARRI Omnib...

Snapgrid , Snapbag & Airglow Expand Creative Control for the ARRI Modular LED BarFollowing the launch of the ARRI Omnibar, DoPchoice introduces a dedicated li...

11/05/2026

Ross Production Services 48-Foot HyperMax-1 Truck Quickly in Demand

New production unit features not only wealth of Ross gear but also Sony cameras, Canon lenses, and a Calrec Argo S audio board...

11/05/2026

Solid State Logic Launches TCA Tour Portable Audio Production System

Solid State Logic (SSL) has announced TCA Tour, a portable fly-away audio production system built from System T components for broadcast, touring, and live prod...

11/05/2026

Riedel Communications Named Official Connectivity Integration Provider for Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Riedel Communications has announced it will serve as Official Connectivity Integ...

11/05/2026

G&D and NETGEAR AV Launch KVM-over-IP Plugin for Automated Network Configuration

Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and NETGEAR AV have announced a plugin that automates network configuration for G&D KVM-over-IP deployments on NETGEAR AV Line infra...

11/05/2026

The Famous Group and Elite Edge Announce Unified Ownership

The Famous Group (TFG) and Elite Edge, a production studio specializing in live-action production, show opens, set design, and fabrication for sports and live e...

11/05/2026

SVG All-Stars: Odair Auger, Tech Project Manager, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises

The native of S o Paulo, Brazil, will play a crucial role in the broadcaster'...

11/05/2026

Cobalt Digital to Showcase IPMX/ST 2110 Ecosystem at BroadcastAsia 2026

Cobalt Digital will exhibit its IPMX/ST 2110 product lineup at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5D2-4), anchored by the COBALT blueCORE family of standalone signal pro...

11/05/2026

Interra Systems to Demonstrate QC, Monitoring, and Captioning Solutions at BroadcastAsia 2026

Interra Systems will exhibit at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5C1-10), demonstrating...

11/05/2026

T-Mobile Deploys 5G and AI Tools Across 2026 PGA Championship

T-Mobile is serving as a technology partner for the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, deploying 5G connectivity and ...

11/05/2026

Vizrt Named Official Technical Supplier of Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Vizrt has announced it has been named an Official Technical Supplier of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, in partnership with host broadcaster ORF. The 70th edi...

11/05/2026

WNBA and AWS Announce Multi-Year Partnership

The WNBA and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced a multi-year partnership making AWS the Official Cloud and Cloud AI Partner of the WNBA. AWS is also joini...

11/05/2026

NAB 2026: kronehit Awards Lawo and SLG Broadcast Contract for Full Studio Modernization

Austrian private broadcaster kronehit publicly awarded SLG Broadcast AG and Lawo...

11/05/2026

Behind The Mic: PGA Championship Changing Weekday Announcer Lineup for 2026 Tournament

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

11/05/2026

L3Harris Reaches Over 50% in FAA Telecommunications Modernization

L3Harris has completed more than 50% of a nationwide effort to rebuild the invisible backbone of America's airspace....

11/05/2026

CBS Sacramento Debuts New AR/VR Studio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/05/2026

Gray Media Advances James Fitch to Senior VP, News Services

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/05/2026

Smarter Monetization Stronger Retention and PurposeDriven...

As Asia Pacific's streaming market continues to evolve, operators across the region are rebalancing their strategies and shifting their focus from subscribe...

11/05/2026

QuickLink to Highlight Latest StudioEdge Models StudioPr...

LONDON, MAY 11, 2026 QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will showcase its latest innovat...

11/05/2026

Cobalt Digitals BroadcastAsia Line up Highlights Flexible...

Cobalt Digital's BroadcastAsia Line-up Highlights Flexible End-to-End IPMX/ST 2110 Ecosystem Award-winning blueCORE standalone signal processors at the he...

11/05/2026

Encompass and VideoMagic Launch Altitude Intelligence to...

Encompass Digital Media, in partnership with VideoMagic International, announced at NAB 2026 the launch of Altitude Intelligence, an AI-powered platform designe...

11/05/2026

Louis Libin Preps for the World Cup's Spectrum Crunch

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/05/2026

Report: Broadcast Employment Hard Hit by AI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/05/2026

Alfalite installs 150 LED panels in Torre Iberdrola audit...

Alfalite, the only European manufacturer of LED screens, has completed a major new corporate installation in Spain with the upgrade of the auditorium at Torre I...

10/05/2026

Berklee Honors Jacob Collier, Jill Scott, and Vinnie Colaiuta at 2026 Commencement

Berklee Honors Jacob Collier, Jill Scott, and Vinnie Colaiuta at 2026 Commenceme...

09/05/2026

New SoundApp ARA Plugin Transforms Boris FX CrumplePop

New SoundApp ARA Plugin Transforms Boris FX CrumplePop Jessie Electa Petrov May 9, 2026 0 Comments CrumplePop 2026.5 streamlines music, voice, and cin...

09/05/2026

Celebrating a TV Legend: Sir David Attenborough

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/05/2026

Playmetrics Acquires SportsEngine From Versant

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/05/2026

NBC Sports, Peacock Scale Vertical-Video Production Across Sports - and Beyond - Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

NBC's 9:16 live-production workflows power Courtside Live, Rinkside Live, Vi...

08/05/2026

ESPN Pieces Together Production Strategy After WNBA's Unsettled Offseason

Native 1080p HDR productions will rely on a mix of remote workflows from Bristol and Los Angeles Despite another prosperous WNBA season in 2025, there was no g...

08/05/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 14: Buffalo Sabres' Autumn Bolton - Bringing Back Better Days at KeyBank Center

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

08/05/2026

ESPN and Players Era Announce Multi-Year Broadcast Agreement for Mens College Basketball Championships

Players Era, an EverWonder Studio company, and ESPN have announced a multi-year ...

08/05/2026

BFBS Selects Synamedia to Build Next-Generation Digital Platform for UK Armed Forces

BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) has announced the selection of Syname...

08/05/2026

UFC and Joe Hand Promotions Launch Championship Rounds Commercial Subscription Package

UFC and Joe Hand Promotions, UFC's exclusive commercial distributor in the U...

08/05/2026

Ease Live Granted US Patent for Interactive Streaming Overlay Technology

Ease Live, an Evertz company, has announced it has been granted US Patent No. 12,556,777 for its graphical overlay technology for interactive live streaming. Th...

08/05/2026

Ateme Deploys OTT Platform for VTVcabs VTVprime Service in Vietnam

Ateme has announced that VTVcab has deployed Ateme's OTT platform to power its VTVprime streaming service in Vietnam. The deployment covers live and on-dema...

08/05/2026

Amagi Launches In-Content Ads Marketplace for CTV Advertising

Amagi has announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering via the Amagi ADS PLUS marketplace, providing programmatic access to ad formats inserted dir...

08/05/2026

USA Sports Dives Headfirst Into Its Inaugural WNBA Season With Onsite Postseason-Style' Productions

Young broadcaster will deploy 11-camera complement on large chunk of games, At ...

08/05/2026

Ratings Roundup: NBCs Derby Coverage Hits All-Time High; 1st Round of NBA, NHA Playoffs Up Big

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

08/05/2026

A Mother's Day Toast to Joan Rubinsky in Theater Camp

Molly Gordon and Ben Platt appear in Theater Camp. (Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures) By Lucy Spicer Her character is the beloved founder of the AdirondACTS...

08/05/2026

G&D KVM-over-IP Plugin for Netgear AV Simplifies Deployments

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/05/2026

Riedel to Support Glasgow 2026 as Official Connectivity I...

Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...

08/05/2026

Miri V410 Encoder-Decoder Wins 2026 NAB Show Product of t...

For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...